Day to Day Politics: How time flies when your incompetence creates havoc
Monday 23 January 2017
1 How time flies. Thursday 26th is Australia Day. A day conspicuous for the arguments it raises as to whether it’s the best day to celebrate it or as some Indigenous folk would say it’s “invasion day”. It’s also the day we celebrate the selection of the Australian of the Year. A person of great accomplishment in one way or another.
It is also unofficially the day that the political gloves are taken off and the combatants get down to business. Yes, time does fly. On this day last year I wrote:
“Leading your Party in Opposition must surely be a job you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. It’s a thankless, powerless, task that has few positives but comes with enormous expectations from those who follow you.
The media focus is on the incumbent and often a 10 second grab on the nightly news is about all one can expect. Often you are damned if you support something with bi-partisan intent or damned if you don’t.
Your followers have a ‘Why doesn’t he stick it up em’ mentality that is laced with an unrealistic desire to win every argument along the way.”
Having said that, the Opposition Leader this year does have a lot of ammunition to fire at the Prime Minister. I don’t intend to get into the ongoing debate as to if Bill Shorten is the right man to lead the Labor Party.
What I do know is that both sides had better take the Trump factor seriously. The frustration with Australian politics is at breaking point and it will only take something even miniscule to tip the Australian politic on its laconic head. It’s a trust crisis that is causing systemic community breakdown. According to the 2017 Trust Barometer by Edelman, Australia is experiencing a steady year to year meltdown in the trust of politicians. Only 37% of our voters trust the Government. Only 32% trust the media. I expect the likes of Bolt and his cohorts of the same ilk are responsible for that.
The left can do much to lift the country out of the malaise it’s in. It could make a series of commitment’s that would lead to a more inclusive people’s democracy. There is no shortage of ideas on how this could be accomplished.
The right have governed so poorly that it is solely concentrated on repairing things it has stuffed up. Just look at the mess they made over the Christmas New Year period. So much so that it has no policy agenda for the year. The Coalition reeks with internal dissent just waiting for Bernardi or others to break ranks and blow it apart. Its leader is beholding to extremists.
Its policies on climate, the NBN, NDIS, the economy, marriage equality, Offshore detention, expenses, Centrelink, pensions, and a multitude of others are in a complete shambles and now they are talking about raising the Medicare levy that will bring in an extra $4 billion a year. The question is will they spend it on health.
How time flies. The budget is due in 4 months and the Government hasn’t yet had its so-called Zombie bills from 2014 passed by the Senate. Surely they cannot just leave $13 billion in the budget and pretend it’s real.
The fact is that Turnbull can only ever govern to retain power and a Government that does that isn’t worth voting for.
2 For Turnbull, the value of having a moderate, popular and charismatic leader in Mike Baird in NSW, Australia’s most populous, state was immeasurable.
3 The grubby James Ashby whispered in the ear of the famous redhead and she turned a human tragedy into an argument against those of another race. In itself another tragedy. She is now known as the Government tea lady. Given her propensity to vote for all things conservative the title fits well. She has not yet apologised
4 On top of that another grubby individual David Leyonjelm made a totality inappropriate remark on the same subject. Both he and Hansen are unworthy of being taken seriously about anything.
Well its free speech and it does show people up for what they represent. This is what he said about the Bourke street disaster where 5 people were killed be a deranged driver.
“Probably one of those semi-automatic assault cars.”
5 ”More than a million women march and protest against Donald Trump”
600 Marches in 57 countries screamed the headline on the Huffington Post web page. The many videos from around the world were truly astonishing. The crowd in Washington alone was arguably larger than at Trump’s inauguration the previous day. Women of the world made their point.
New Press Secretary Sean Spicer disagreed with comparisons with the Obama and Trump inauguration crowds, stating that the Trump’s inauguration was the largest crowd ever witnessed. Which of course is probably the first of many whoppers he will tell in the next four years.
President Trump also lambasted the media:
“Now, that’s not bad. But it’s a lie,” he said about his crowd. He falsely claimed there were people stretching from the steps of the Capitol, where he spoke, along 20 blocks back to the Washington Monument.
“So we caught them and we caught them in a beauty and I think they’re going to pay a big price,” said Trump.
Now any fair-minded person comparing pictures of both would have to say that the President was also lying. Now in the totality of things crown sizes may not be all that important but when Presidents lie we are duty bound to call them out.
This is likely to occur daily over the next four years. If you differ you are a liar in Trump’s mind.
My thought for the day.
“Those who say that everything happens for a reason have a lot of explaining to do.”
22 comments
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michael lacey -
Möbius Ecko -
Harquebus -
wam -
Rossleigh -
Roswell -
Terry2 -
Harquebus -
Roswell -
jim -
Egalitarian -
Henry Rodrigues -
lawrencewinder -
Egalitarian -
Egalitarian -
silkworm -
Roswell -
Egalitarian -
Roswell -
Egalitarian -
helvityni -
helvityni
Return to home pageThat’s true “What I do know is that both sides had better take the Trump factor seriously.”
If they do not free themselves from failed neoliberal policies they will pay the price!
How many of the people who knew the outcome of the election in the United States knew that 90000 people in Michigan left the choice for President blank! How many showed her losing the white women vote by 10%! How many showed the vote in union households split 50/50!
The ABC have been conspicuously biased for Turnbull in relation to the commemoration of the Melbourne victims. I’ll start by stating that Shorten is a Victorian and a Melbournite, so it’s only fitting that he should be shown and interviewed on the tragedy.
Though they showed more of Turnbull most news services did just that, even if for a short piece and even Sky, except for the ABC, who only showed Turnbull multiple times in all their news pieces and did not show Shorten at all. It made it appear as though Shorten wasn’t there and had nothing to say on the tragedy, yet as he always does Shorten gave a more eloquent statement, but you would not know that if you watched the ABC.
There’s a real problem for Shorten and the ALP this year as the ABC is now blatantly pro L-NP and anti-Labor. The ABC in every survey is the most trusted news source, with Murdoch’s being the least trusted. Now that Murdoch effectively controls the ABC he can voice through a trusted outlet, and that does not bode well for Shorten.
The only outlet where I see Murdoch and the L-NP being rightly hammered is social media, and the right are hating it with a growing choler. I think this is the outlet the ALP must concentrate on as they certainly won’t be able to rely on any MSM outlet to get a fair hearing or to be heard at all if what the ABC did to Shorten on the Melbourne incident is anything to go by.
While governments pursue growth at all costs, things will continue to deteriorate. John Lord is not likely to run short of things to complain about, ever.
I can’t remember if I have posted this link here before. If so, my apologies for the repetition.
“The survey spanning 40 countries is the first international review to reveal how deeply governments feel they are losing control and authority over communications.”
http://www.thedailysheeple.com/surveys-show-global-trust-at-all-time-low-as-central-governments-are-losing-control-worldwide_012017
Cheers.
The media is attempting to ‘delegitimise the ‘president.
Sounds like 2010-13, Lord, surely we should be supporting trump’s vow to hold the media accountable???
spot on mobius but the abc was pro the rabbott in 2010 when it, like 7 and 9, was caught up with the slogan attack.
The ‘at home with julia’ could have been ‘out and about with the budgie’ but no public servant would have dared to produce such a program about him..
An ominous thought of the day – I have been trying to get agreement to publishing the religious effect in trauma but it is a no no to suggest thinking much less questioning.
ps
Wow i loved the satirists like max on hawke and little johnnie but this morning a shirtless ‘putin’ was hillarious.
Harquebus, have you ever considered how much electricity your wasting with your constant commenting. We could slow down growth no end if you restricted yourself to twenty minutes of computer usage each day!
“John Lord is not likely to run short of things to complain about, ever.”
Neither are you, Harquebus. You’d make a good role model.
It is being suggested that Cori Bernardi and his group are making ready to hold the Liberal Party hostage with the threat to create a new conservative far-right party, bankrolled by Gina Rinehart.
They know that this ploy has the potential to destabilise conservative politics in Australia and, if carried through, would wreck the Liberal Party : for those reasons it is unlikely to proceed beyond sabre-rattling but the posturing cannot be ignored.
At this stage, Turnbull is like the boy with his finger in the dyke and if he removes his finger he will be inundated by the rabid Abbott faction including the likes of Abetz , Andrews and the shifty Dutton, who are committed to destroying Turnbull’s leadership.
Whichever way Turnbull looks the forces to unseat him are building and, as we have seen, Abbott is working to bring the Bernardi group into his tent which, if he achieves that and it seems likely he could, gives him the opportunity to achieve his ambition of getting back into the top job.
Rossleigh
Yes. How much one spends is how much one pollutes. Even earning a wage causes pollution. At the bottom of the economic heap, my carbon footprint can only be much smaller by comparison with most here.
How much electricity does this website consume 24 hours every day of the year.
Roswell
Something I said to someone here yesterday.
“You want to build a better world, I am trying to save something upon which to do it.”
Cheers.
Harquebus, everybody here is trying to make it a better world, you included. We all do it in different ways.
Re the Ah in the car in Victoria, “Victoria seems to be the really bad” said the Hostess of ch7 sunrise.
Now why would she say this on National TV ?. one reason ;….ALP state Government IMO.
Trump is the archetypal bully and manipulator.He gets his lacky to talk up audience numbers for his inauguration and knock the media.Then he tries to coerce and intimidate and manipulate the CIA with supposed support and funding.Trump is a thin skin sociopathic bully.
One very clear and stark similarity between Trump and his spokespeople, Sean Spicer and and Valerie Conway, and our very own Turdball and his troupe of spinmasters, as well as Murdoch’s minions and the disgraceful ABC and its collection of arsewipes, is that they are both liars and worse, don’t ever care who knows it. No matter what the media say and do, the next election will be the end of this useless dysfunctional government.
http://shanewombat.blogspot.com.au/…/01/is-tide-turning.html?
http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/trump-obsessed-with-me-kristen-stewart-20170122-gtwk93.html
Trump still has the emotional capacity of an 8 year old. He is such a jerk””
So Poor Old Trumped up Trump has low self esteem.This is very sad for him and for his country no doubt. Check fascinating vision.
http://anonhq.com/does-trumps-body-language-betray-him/
“… now they are talking about raising the Medicare levy that will bring in an extra $4 billion a year. The question is will they spend it on health.”
MMT has something to say here. Money does not have to be raised from any sphere to fund spending on anything. The Commonwealth government could simply drop the Medicare levy altogether and fund health entirely from fiat money.
Tying spending to taxes (instead of the other way around) has the effect of making the taxpaying public resentful of any and every government spending, and resentful of those less fortunate than themselves.
Hi Egalitarian. I found your comment in the spam folder. I don’t know why it was in there but I suspect it may have been because of the link with it.
I thought The CIA had gotten to me already. I had to shut down my computer. As it wouldn’t allow me to send comment.
They were getting through but just going straight to spam. There was nothing sinister about it so you don’t have to worry. The spam software that the site uses often traps comments with links, especially multiple links.
So you’re safe as far as the CIA goes, but I have reported you to the FBI.
Only kidding. ?
(I like the FBI. I used to work for them).
I used to work for Control now I prefer Kaos ….
Möbius Ecko, totally agree with your assessment of ABC’s treatment of Bill Shorten, most unfair, it’s certainly not MY ABC anymore…
Egalitarian, even Kaos would be better than this government; I’d prefer the Belgian way, the country flourished whilst being without a government for two years…